Mountable, thermal situational-awareness accessory for use with optical devices

ABSTRACT

A situational-awareness accessory comprises a housing including a control board, a user display, and a visual sensor for receiving electromagnetic radiation that is invisible to the human eye from a wide-angle, optical field-of-view in front of the visual sensor. The control board converts the received electromagnetic radiation into visual display data and initiates display of the visual display data on the user display. A quick-detach accessory base mount coupled with the housing permits attachment of the housing to an accessory rail.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Non-Provisional Patent Application of and claimsthe benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/098,585, filed on Dec. 31, 2014, the contents of which are herebyincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

Currently when using an optical device (e.g., a firearm scope, spottingscope, binocular, telescope, etc.) with a relatively narrowfield-of-view (FOV), and particularly an optical device that is notdesigned to operate in a no-light (or low-light) situation, it can beextremely difficult to differentiate and engage a desired target in ano-light situation due to a lack of available ambient light and therelatively narrow FOV offered by the optical device. Even in situationswhere the optical device can be switched to a no-light type opticaldevice (e.g., a night vision scope) and an attempt is made to use theoptical device, a failure of a desired task can occur due to aninability to find and engage a target and assess a tactical situationdue to the optical device's narrow FOV.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure describes a situational-awareness accessory foruse with optical devices.

In an implementation, the situational-awareness accessory comprises ahousing including a control board, a user display, and a visual sensorfor receiving electromagnetic radiation that is invisible to the humaneye from a wide-angle, optical field-of-view (FOV) in front of thevisual sensor; a control board for converting the receivedelectromagnetic radiation into visual display data and to initiatedisplay of the visual display data on the user display; a quick-detachaccessory base mount coupled with the housing and permitting attachmentof the housing to an accessory rail, the quick-detach accessory basemount including: a rail clamp carried to selectively clamp the basemount to the accessory rail; a mounting arm coupled with a pivot shaftthreaded to hold a preload screw opposite the mounting arm and the railclamp, the mounting arm configured to rotate relative to the base mountbetween a clamped and an unclamped position associated with the railclamp, the rotation of the mounting arm causing the rail clamp to clampand unclamp the base mount to the accessory rail, respectively; and aninterlock configured to selectively restrict rotation of the mountingarm between the clamped and unclamped positions.

In another implementation, the situational-awareness accessory comprisesa housing including a control board, a user display, and a visual sensorfor receiving electromagnetic radiation that is invisible to the humaneye from a wide-angle, optical field-of-view (FOV) in front of thevisual sensor; a control board for converting the receivedelectromagnetic radiation into visual display data and to initiatedisplay of the visual display data on the user display; a quick-detachaccessory base mount coupled with the housing and permitting attachmentof the housing to an accessory rail, the quick-detach accessory basemount including: a rail clamp carried to selectively clamp the basemount to the accessory rail; and a rotatable mounting arm coupled with apivot shaft passing through the rail clamp, the pivot shaft threaded tohold a preload screw opposite the mounting arm and the rail clamp, thepreload screw used to configure a clamping force of the rail clamp tothe accessory rail, and the preload screw secured to the mounting arm ina particular position using a preload grub screw.

The foregoing and other implementations can each optionally include oneor more of the following features, alone or in combination:

A first aspect, combinable with the general implementation, whereinelectromagnetic radiation receivable by the visual sensor includes atleast one of ultraviolet (UV), infrared (IR), or X-ray.

A second aspect, combinable with any of the previous aspects, comprisingan objective lens to provide at least one of protection or functionalityenhancement to the visual sensor.

A third aspect, combinable with any of the previous aspects, wherein thefunctionality enhancement includes one or more of providing a wider FOV,magnification, and filtering of one or more wavelengths ofelectromagnetic radiation.

A fourth aspect, combinable with any of the previous aspects, whereinthe visual sensor is configured to be interchangeable within thehousing.

A fifth aspect, combinable with any of the previous aspects, comprisingan aiming-type indicator displayed on the user display.

A sixth aspect, combinable with any of the previous aspects, comprisingoptical or digital zoom functionality provided with the visual sensor toprovide a zoomed image on the user display.

A seventh aspect, combinable with any of the previous aspects, whereinthe control board provides connectivity functionality with an externalcomputing device.

An eighth aspect, combinable with any of the previous aspects, whereinthe external computing device can configure the situational-awarenessaccessory, record data received from the situational-awarenessaccessory, and supply data to the situational-awareness accessory fordisplay on the user display.

A ninth aspect, combinable with any of the previous aspects, wherein thecontrol board comprises a first control board and a second control boardjoined by a flexible data connection and folded back-to-back within thehousing.

One method of use includes: associating a situational-awarenessaccessory with an optical device, the situational-awareness accessoryincluding a user display and a visual sensor; activating thesituational-awareness accessory to receive electromagnetic radiationthat is invisible to the human eye from a wide-angle, opticalfield-of-view (FOV) in front of a visual sensor; adjusting settings forthe situational-awareness accessory on the user display; viewing theuser display of the situational-awareness accessory to make asituational awareness evaluation of an immediate area in front of thesituational-awareness accessory, the user display displaying thereceived electromagnetic radiation converted into visual display data;and using the optical device to engage a target based on the situationalawareness evaluation.

The foregoing implementation can optionally include one or more of thefollowing features, alone or in combination:

A first aspect, combinable with the general implementation, whereinassociating the situational-awareness accessory with the optical deviceincludes use of a quick-detach accessory base mount configured as partof the situational-awareness accessory, the quick-detach accessory basemount including: a rail clamp carried to selectively clamp the basemount to the accessory rail; a mounting arm coupled with a pivot shaftthreaded to hold a preload screw opposite the mounting arm and the railclamp, the mounting arm configured to rotate relative to the base mountbetween a clamped and an unclamped position associated with the railclamp, the rotation of the mounting arm causing the rail clamp to clampand unclamp the base mount to the accessory rail, respectively; and aninterlock configured to selectively restrict rotation of the mountingarm between the clamped and an unclamped position.

A second aspect, combinable with any of the previous aspects, comprisinginterchanging the visual sensor in the situational-awareness accessorydepending upon which wavelength of electromagnetic radiation desired tobe used to make the situational awareness evaluation.

A third aspect, combinable with any of the previous aspects, comprisingconnecting the situational-awareness accessory to an external computingdevice, wherein the external computing device can be used to configurethe situational-awareness accessory, record data received from thesituational-awareness accessory, and to supply data to thesituational-awareness accessory for display on the user display.

Other implementations of this aspect can include corresponding computersystems, apparatuses, and computer programs recorded on one or morecomputer-readable media/storage devices, each configured to perform oneor more actions or methods associated with the describedsituational-awareness accessory for use with optical devices. A systemof one or more computers can be configured to perform particularoperations or actions by virtue of having software, firmware, hardware,or a combination of software, firmware, or hardware installed on thesystem that in operation causes the system to perform the actions. Oneor more computer programs can be configured to perform particularoperations or actions by virtue of including instructions that, whenexecuted by data processing apparatus, cause the apparatus to performthe actions.

The subject matter described in this specification can be implemented inparticular implementations so as to realize one or more of the followingadvantages. First, the use of the situational-awareness accessory inconjunction with a daylight-type optical device can extend theusefulness of the daylight-type optical device into situations whereambient light is naturally fading (e.g., at dusk/sunset) or whenentering a no-light (or low-light) environment (e.g., a building with nolights, moonless/cloudy night, in woods/jungle, etc.). For example, thesituational-awareness accessory can be used to provide a thermal (orother invisible-light), wide-angle, situational-awareness field-of-view(FOV) (“situational-awareness”) of an area in front of a user to allowthe user to quickly and accurately spot a target and orient a normallydegraded functionality daylight-type optical device toward the target ina no-light environment. This increase in reaction time can result inproper and effective target engagement and enhance overall safety forthe situational-awareness accessory user. When using a low-light opticaldevice, the situational-awareness accessory can still providesituational-awareness to the user with the above-mentioned providedbenefits. Second, the situational-awareness accessory can itself be usedto provide an overall situational awareness for the user of a daylight-or no-light-type optical device. For example, a user of a firearm withan attached optical device and situational-awareness accessory can sweepthe firearm across a particular area in a no-light environment and usethe situational-awareness accessory to generate a quick assessment of anumber of potential targets, differentiate friend vs. foe, determine atactical situation, and the like. Third, the situational-awarenessaccessory can provide greater confidence/confirmation of the identity ofa target when used in conjunction with a daylight-type (or evenno-light-type) optical device. For example, the situational-awarenessaccessory can be used to verify that a target is in actuality a targetdesired to be engaged. As a particular example, a hunter can confirm atdusk that an object seen in the daylight-type optical device is actuallyan animal being hunted as opposed to a human hunter concealed invegetation. At night, the situational-awareness accessory could be usedto confirm that a group of people are in fact police officers by the waythey are moving as opposed to sought-after perpetrators trying to escapepolice on foot. Fourth, the thermal nature of an examplesituational-awareness accessory can also be used to peer through smoke,haze, fog, and/or other obscurants in the air. For example, in asituation where law enforcement has a problem with criminals in aspecific house/building, smoke grenades are often thrown into thebuilding and law enforcement then enters. Standard night vision(no-light) or optical scopes are useless in this environment due to thesmoke in the air. However, in the thermal band, law enforcement can seethrough the generated smoke and make out people, furniture, etc. Otheradvantages will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.

The details of one or more implementations of the subject matter of thisspecification are set forth in the accompanying drawings and thedescription below. Other features, aspects, and advantages of thesubject matter will become apparent from the description, the drawings,and the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a right-side perspective view of asituational-awareness accessory for use with optical devices, accordingto an implementation.

FIG. 2 illustrates a right-side view of the situational-awarenessaccessory for use with optical devices, according to an implementation.

FIG. 3 illustrates a front view of the situational-awareness accessoryfor use with optical devices, according to an implementation.

FIG. 4 illustrates a left-side view of the situational-awarenessaccessory for use with optical devices, according to an implementation.

FIG. 5 illustrates a left-side perspective view of thesituational-awareness accessory for use with optical devices, accordingto an implementation.

FIG. 6 illustrates a rear view of the situational-awareness accessoryfor use with optical devices, according to an implementation.

FIG. 7 illustrates a bottom view of situational-awareness accessory foruse with optical devices, according to an implementation.

FIG. 8 illustrates a top view of the situational-awareness accessory foruse with optical devices, according to an implementation.

FIG. 9 illustrates a front view of an internal control board for thesituational-awareness accessory for use with optical devices, accordingto an implementation.

FIG. 10 illustrates a side view of the internal control board for thesituational-awareness accessory for use with optical devices, accordingto an implementation.

FIG. 11 illustrates a rear view of the internal control board for thesituational-awareness accessory for use with optical devices, accordingto an implementation.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart of a method of use of the situational-awarenessaccessory for use with optical devices, according to an implementation.

FIG. 13 illustrates a right-side perspective view of an alternativesituational-awareness accessory for use with optical devices, accordingto an implementation.

Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicatelike elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure describes a situational-awareness accessory foruse with optical devices.

The following detailed description is presented to enable any personskilled in the art to make, use, and/or practice the disclosed subjectmatter and is provided in the context of one or more particularimplementations. Various modifications to the disclosed implementationswill be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generalprinciples defined herein may be applied to other implementations andapplications without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus,the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the describedand/or illustrated implementations but is to be accorded the widestscope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein.

Currently when using an optical device (e.g., a firearm scope, spottingscope, binocular, telescope, etc.) with a relatively narrowfield-of-view (FOV) (e.g., 3-10 degrees), and particularly an opticaldevice that is not designed to operate in a no-light situation, it canbe extremely difficult to differentiate and engage a desired target in ano-light situation due to a lack of available ambient light and therelatively narrow FOV offered by the optical device. Even in situationswhere the optical device can be switched to a no-light-type opticaldevice (e.g., a night vision scope) and an attempt is made to use theoptical device, a failure of a desired task can occur due to aninability to find and engage a target and assess a tactical situationdue to the optical device's narrow FOV.

At a high level, what is described is a situational-awareness accessoryfor use with optical devices (both daylight and no-light types). Intypical implementations, the situational-awareness accessory is athermal version of a sighting system similar to a standard red-dot-typedisplay, but all digital in operating principle. As will be appreciatedby those of ordinary skill in the art, the situational-awarenessaccessory could also be made to operate in other wavelengths (e.g.,switchable between single wavelengths or concurrent detection ofmultiple wavelengths) of electromagnetic radiation (e.g., visiblespectrum, ultraviolet (UV), X-ray, and/or other wavelengths). The use ofthe situational-awareness accessory in conjunction with a daylight-typeoptical device can extend the usefulness of the daylight-type opticaldevice into situations where ambient light is naturally fading (e.g., atdusk/sunset)/imperceptible or when entering a no-light environment(e.g., a building, etc.). For example, the situational-awarenessaccessory can be used to provide a thermal, wide-angle (e.g., 25-50degrees), situational-awareness field-of-view (FOV)(“situational-awareness”) of an area in front of a user to allow theuser to quickly and accurately spot a target in the available displayedwide FOV and orient a normally degraded functionality daylight-typeoptical device toward the target in a no-light environment. Thisincrease in reaction time can result in proper and effective targetengagement and enhance overall safety for the situational-awarenessaccessory user. When using a no-light optical device, thesituational-awareness accessory can still provide situational-awarenessto the user with the above-mentioned provided benefits. Thesituational-awareness accessory can itself be used to provide an overallsituational awareness for the user of a daylight- or no-light-typeoptical device. For example, a user of a firearm with an attachedoptical device and situational-awareness accessory can sweep the firearmacross a particular area in a no-light environment and use thesituational-awareness accessory to generate a quick assessment of anumber of potential targets, differentiate friend vs. foe, determine atactical situation, and the like. The situational-awareness accessorycan also provide greater confidence/confirmation of the identity of atarget when used in conjunction with a daylight-type (or evenno-light-type) optical device. For example, the situational-awarenessaccessory can be used to verify that a target is in actuality a targetdesired to be engaged. As a particular example, a hunter can confirm atdusk that an object seen in the daylight-type optical device is actuallyan animal being hunted as opposed to a human hunter concealed invegetation. At night, the situational-awareness accessory could be usedto confirm that a group of people are in fact police officers by the waythey are moving as opposed to sought-after perpetrators trying to escapepolice on foot. The thermal nature of an example situational-awarenessaccessory can also be used to peer through smoke, haze, fog, and/orother obscurants in the air. For example, in a situation where lawenforcement has a problem with criminals in a specific house/building,smoke grenades are often thrown into the building and law enforcementthen enters. Standard night vision (no-light) or optical scopes areuseless in this environment due to the smoke in the air. However, in thethermal band, law enforcement can see through the generated smoke andmake out people, furniture, etc.

FIG. 1 illustrates a right-side perspective view 100 of asituational-awareness accessory for use with optical devices, accordingto an implementation. The situational-awareness accessory includes ahousing 102, accessory rail mounting system (collectively body 104 a,mounting arm 104 b, interlock 104 c, rail clamp 104 d—and other relatedcomponents), power button 108, adjustment button 106, batterycompartment 110, removable battery-compartment cap 116,battery-compartment cap retainer 118, battery-compartment cap retaineranchor 120, user display 112, and visual sensor 114 (not illustrated,refer to FIG. 3 for an illustration).

The housing 102 can be made of one or more metals, plastics, rubbers,composite materials, or other suitable materials. In the illustratedimplementation of the situational-awareness accessory, the housing formsa type of hood over the user display 112 and visual sensor 114 to offerprotection from impact. In some implementations, the housing 102 can beconfigured to be attached to the body 104 a (e.g., by adhesives,mechanical fasteners, welds, etc.). In other implementations, thehousing can be integrally machined as part of the body 104 a. Thehousing 102 is configured to permit installation of an internal controlboard (e.g., user display 112, visual sensor 114, control board—e.g.,see FIGS. 9-11, etc.). In some implementations, the battery compartment110 can be attached to the housing 102 and/or the body 104 a. In someimplementations, the housing can be configured to accept O-rings,plastic/glass display/sensor covers, and other types of sealingcomponents to make the housing 102 waterproof to protect internallymounted components (e.g., the internal control board and relatedcomponents).

In some implementations, the accessory rail mounting system (104 a-104c) includes a cam-supported rail clamp moveable to selectively clamp thesituational-awareness accessory to an accessory rail (“rail”), such asthat commonly found on a firearm, tripod, fence, building, vehicle, etc.Examples of a rail can include a WEAVER or PICATINNY (also known as aMIL-STD-1913, STANAG 2324, or “tactical” rail). An example of theaccessory rail mounting system is described in co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/923,044, which is hereby incorporated byreference. As will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art,the accessory rail mounting system can vary in form, implementation, anddesign. The design of the accessory rail mounting system, as long ascapable of attaching the situational-awareness accessory to a rail, isnot meant to limit the other described components of thesituational-awareness accessory in any manner.

The power button 108 is designed to power the situational-awarenessaccessory on and off. In some implementations, the power button 108 canhave additional functionality, such as multiple clicks for a timedON/OFF mode, press-and-hold to change operational modes, etc. In someimplementations, the power button 108 can be used in conjunction withthe adjustment button to provide additional adjustment functionality.For example, when adjusting the situational-awareness accessory userdisplay 112/functions, a momentary press of the power button may allowfor adjustments, while a longer/more purposeful press of the powerbutton will provide power functionality. As will be appreciated by thoseof ordinary skill in the art, the power button 108 can vary in form,implementation, and design, and these variances are not meant to limitthe situational-awareness accessory in any manner.

The adjustment button 106 is designed to provide adjustmentfunctionality for features/functions of the situational-awarenessaccessory. In typical implementations, adjustment button 106 is designedto simply toggle between color modes (e.g., white hot, black hot). Inother implementations, the adjustment button 106 can be used for otheradjustment functionality. For example, the adjustment button 106 can beconfigured to adjust user display 112 brightness, operating modes,aiming reticle/dots, optical path in relation to a separate opticaldevice, user display 112 frame rate, display colors/negative color mode(e.g., white hot, black hot), display temperature settings, wider/tallerimages, day/no-light modes, zooming, enabling/disabling a link to anexternal smart device, and/or the like. In some implementations, theadjustment button 106 can operate in a single button adjustmentmanner—where the single adjustment button 106 is used to perform alladjustments (e.g., through a series of short and longer presses, holds,etc.). In other implementations, the adjustment button 106 can be usedin conjunction with the power button 108 as described above and/or someother attached adjustment mechanism (e.g., connected to a built-in USBport—not illustrated). In some other implementations, the user display112 can have touch sensitivity to allow adjustment in conjunction withthe adjustment button 106 and/or the power button 108. As will beappreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, the adjustment button106 can vary in form, implementation, and design, and these variancesare not meant to limit the situational-awareness accessory in anymanner. As such, other configurations are considered to be within thescope of this disclosure. For example, the adjustment button (andrelated functionality) could be configured to be multiple buttons,switches (e.g., Mylar, sliding, toggle, etc.), a touch-sensitivesurface, etc. In other implementations, the adjustment functionality canalso be integrated into an application executing on a linked (e.g., bysituational-awareness accessory-integrated WIFI, BLUETOOTH, or othertechnology, etc. on the internal control board) external smart device(e.g., a smart phone, tablet computer, etc.).

In some implementations, the power button 108 and/or the adjustmentbutton can be of a different format/mechanism. For example, the powerbutton can be configured as a different type of power control mechanismconsistent with this disclosure (e.g., an ON/OFF switch, an internalmotion-detecting sensor that automatically powers thesituational-awareness accessory ON when movement is detected and powersthe situational-awareness accessory OFF after a period of inactivity,etc.). Similarly, the illustrated adjustment button could instead beconfigured as a dial, toggle switch, or other type of adjustmentmechanism consistent with this disclosure. In some alternativeimplementations, the power button 108 and adjustment button 106 can becombined into a single control mechanism. In other implementations, thepower button 108 and/or the adjustment button 106 can be omitted fromthe situational-awareness accessory. In these implementations, atouch-sensitive display, a linked smart device, and/or external powercontrol/adjustment mechanism can be used to make power controlsettings/adjustments for the situational-awareness accessory.Additionally, in some other implementations, more than one power button108 and/or adjustment button 106 (or other mechanisms) can be configuredas part of the situational-awareness accessory (e.g., each to performdifferent functions or to work in conjunction with each other).

Battery compartment 110 typically holds a battery to provide power tothe situational-awareness accessory. In some implementations, thebattery can be either rechargeable or non-rechargeable (such as a 123A,CR2032, AA, AAA, etc.) installed under a removable battery-compartmentcap 116 retained to the situational-awareness accessory by abattery-compartment cap retainer 118 (e.g., a loop of wire wrappedaround the removable battery-compartment cap 116) and secured to thesituational-awareness accessory by a battery-compartment cap retaineranchor 120 (e.g., a screw head with a hole to accommodate the attachmentof the battery-compartment cap retainer 118). Although not illustratedin FIGS. 1-8, battery-compartment cap retainer 118 is typically attachedto battery-compartment cap retainer anchor 120. In some implementations,the removable battery-compartment cap 116 can be a pop-off, screw-type,etc. In typical implementations, the removable battery-compartment cap116 (or battery compartment 110) is configured with one or more O-ringsor other seals to provide a waterproof compartment for a battery.

In some implementations, the situational-awareness accessory can beconnected to an external power supply (using one or more connectors (notillustrated)). For example, various connectors can include USB (andvariants), SD/microSD memory card slots, CF memory card slot, FIREWIRE,LIGHTNING, RCA, 3.5 mm audio, HDMI, component, and/or other types ofconnectors consistent with this disclosure. In some implementations,connectors can allow the situational-awareness accessory to be attachedto an external control assembly, external power supplies, computingequipment (such as a smart device), memory storage devices, and/orinstruments/sensors, etc. to either receive, record, etc. data from thesituational-awareness accessory or to provide additional data to thesituational-awareness accessory for configuration, display, etc.

In implementations enabling a connection to an external power supply,the external power supply could either power the situational-awarenessaccessory and/or recharge a battery associated with the batterycompartment 110 (e.g., if a rechargeable battery). The internal controlboard (see FIGS. 9 and 10, power supply management 904, and relateddiscussion) can be configured to determine whether a battery is arechargeable battery and control recharging functionality if appropriatepower is supplied. In some implementations, the situational-awarenessaccessory can have an indicator (e.g., LED, audio chirp, user display112 indicator, and/or other visual/audio indicator) that a battery is(or is about to be) discharged. In some implementations, thesituational-awareness accessory can transmit data to a smart device todisplay a message to a user that a battery is discharged and needsreplacement/recharging.

User display 112 is used to display visual data received by the visualsensor 114 and processed by the internal control board for display to auser. In some implementations, and as described above, data can beintroduced for display on the user display 112 from received externaldata (e.g., an externally linked smart device and/or other device). Intypical implementations, the user display 112 can be a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, or othersimilar/suitable display. In some implementations, the user display 112can be projected into the illustrated position (e.g., by using an LCDand a mirror).

In some implementations, the situational-awareness accessory userdisplay 112 can have a visually displayed reticle, dot, and/oraiming-type indicator (“reticle”). Whether or not a reticle is displayedcan be regulated by laws, regulations, etc. In some implementations, thesituational-awareness accessory user display 112 can be devoid of areticle in order to be in compliance with laws and/or regulations. Inimplementations with a reticle, the reticle types/patterns can bepre-programmed and/or uploaded into the situational-awareness accessoryusing an above-described connector, WIFI connection, etc. Reticles canalso be aligned (“zeroed”) with a reticle on an optical scope or otheroptical device to allow for even greater versatility (e.g., using theadjustment button 106 functionality or perhaps an application executingon a smart device to move the displayed reticle). For example, thesituational-awareness accessory could be used when no-light conditionsmake aiming with an optical scope difficult. The situational-awarenessaccessory could be used to place the optical scope “in the ballpark”using the displayed situational-awareness accessory reticle and then theuser could switch to the optical scope to find and engage a target usingthe optical scope reticle. Note that the situational-awareness accessorycan be used in a similar manner to place an optical scope “in theballpark” without a displayed reticle.

In some implementations, the situational-awareness accessory userdisplay 112 frame rate for display image refresh can also be restricted.For example, an 8 Hz refresh rate may be exportable to differentcountries, but a 9 Hz+ refresh rate may not. Note that theexportability, legality, etc. may also be influenced by the inclusion ofthe above-mentioned reticles in combination with varied refresh rates.

In typical implementations, the visual sensor 114 is designed to collectnon-visible light to allow processing by the internal control board anddisplay on the user display 112. For example, in some implementations,the visual sensor 114 can be a LEPTON brand thermal imager visual sensorsuch as that produced by FLIR, Inc. (or equivalent type of visualsensor). In some implementations, an objective lens 122 (not illustratedin FIG. 1—see FIG. 3) can be used to cover, protect, and/or enhance thefunctionality of the visual sensor 114. For example, the objective lens122 can be interchangeable depending on the purposes of thesituational-awareness accessory (e.g., wider FOV, higher neededmagnification, type of visual data desired, etc.). For example, in someimplementations, the objective lens 122 can be configured of a materialtransparent to infrared (IR) radiation such as in thermal imagingsystems. In some implementations, the objective lens 122 can beconfigured of Germanium (Ge), quartz, AMTIER, barium fluoride, calciumfluoride, sodium chloride, CLEARTRAN, fused silica, silicon,polyethylene, IR transparent ceramics, and/or any other type ofsubstance transparent to infrared electromagnetic radiation. In someimplementations, the objective lens 122 can be made of a substancetransparent to both optical and IR radiation wavelengths (e.g., quartz,polyethylene, etc.). In some implementations, the objective lens 122 andvisual sensor 114 associated with the situational-awareness accessorycan be removed and replaced within the situational-awareness accessoryhousing to change overall functionality without needing a separatesituational-awareness accessory unit. In some implementations, anobjective lens 122 can be configured as part of the housing 102, anattachment to the housing 102, or be an integral part of the visualsensor 114 (meaning that there may not be a separate objective lens—inwhich case, a transparent window can be used to protect the visualsensor 114 in some implementations). In some implementations, the visualsensor 114 can be zoomed (optically and/or digitally) to magnify areceived image for display on the user display 112.

In some implementations, the housing 102 can be configured with abuilt-in microphone (not illustrated) (e.g., a small opening in thehousing 102) to receive audio data to be recorded (e.g., on a connectedmemory card (see above regarding connectors) and/or internal memory),transmitted (using a wireless or wired connection to a receivingdevice), or monitored (e.g., using a plugged in headset—see aboveregarding connectors). In other implementations, the configuredmicrophone can also provide an auxiliary connector (see above regardingconnectors) to attach a separate higher sensitivity/directionalmicrophone to the situational-awareness accessory or to an externalsupport such as a tripod, hand-held microphone support, etc. In someimplementations, the microphone can be used to issue voice commands tothe situational-awareness accessory and/or a linked smart device tocontrol operation/functionality.

Turning to FIG. 13, FIG. 13 illustrates a right-side perspective view ofan alternative situational-awareness accessory for use with opticaldevices according to an implementation. As illustrated in FIG. 13, thesituational-awareness accessory is of a simpler design and lacks themore complicated accessory rail mounting system (104 a-104 c) asdescribed above. Instead, a rail clamp 1302 (similar to rail clamp 104d) is used with a locking screw 1304 to secure the situational-awarenessaccessory to an accessory rail. As illustrated, the locking screw has anAllen head-type engagement interface, but the type of locking screw andinterface can vary (e.g., Phillips head, slot head, TORX head, thumbscrew, etc.). Also, the removable battery-compartment cap 1306,battery-compartment cap retainer 1308, and battery-compartment capretainer anchor 1310 are of a different design than that illustrated inFIGS. 1-8. Other design changes consistent with the disclosure are notmeant to be limiting to the described subject matter and are consideredto be within the scope of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a right-side view 200 of the situational-awarenessaccessory for use with optical devices, according to an implementation.

FIG. 3 illustrates a front view 300 of the situational-awarenessaccessory for use with optical devices, according to an implementation.Note that 114/122 can illustrate either an integral lens of the visualsensor 114 or a separate objective lens/cover 122 in front of the visualsensor 114.

FIG. 4 illustrates a left-side view 400 of the situational-awarenessaccessory for use with optical devices, according to an implementation.Preload screw 402 is threaded around pivot shaft 403. The pivot shaft403 is coupled to the mounting arm 104 b and allows for adjustment ofthe clamping force of the rail clamp 104 d on an accessory rail.Interlock set screw 404 is used to adjust the extension of the interlock104 c outward from the body 104 a. The interlock 104 c is used toprohibit the backwards motion of the mounting arm when rotate to aparticular configuration.

FIG. 5 illustrates a left-side perspective view 500 of thesituational-awareness accessory for use with optical devices, accordingto an implementation.

FIG. 6 illustrates a rear view 600 of the situational-awarenessaccessory for use with optical devices, according to an implementation.Slot engagement bar 602 is integrally formed from the body 104 a into arectangular shape of a size to engage with a slot formed into a rail.When engaged with a rail slot, the slot engagement bar 602 preventslateral movement of the situational-awareness accessory on the railalong an axis transverse to the slot. In other implementations, the slotengagement bar 602 can be a separately formed component that is attachedto the situational-awareness accessory body 104 a, for example, bypinning, welding, adhesive, or the like. In other implementations, theslot engagement bar 602 can be omitted from the situational-awarenessaccessory body 104 a.

FIG. 7 illustrates a bottom view 700 of the situational-awarenessaccessory for use with optical devices, according to an implementation.Preload grub screw hole 702 receives the a preload grub screw and isconfigured to allow the preload grub screw to physically rotate betweenan engaged position, for example, screwed further into the body 104 a,contacting the preload screw 402, and an unengaged position, forexample, screwed outward toward the surface of the body 104 a. When thepreload grub screw is in the engaged position, friction and/ormechanical contact between the preload grub screw and the preload screw402 prevents the preload screw 402 from rotating to adjust the clampingforce of the rail clamp 104 d on an accessory rail. When the preloadgrub screw is in the unengaged position, the preload screw 402 can berotated.

FIG. 8 illustrates a top view 800 of the situational-awareness accessoryfor use with optical devices, according to an implementation. In someimplementations, the top of the battery compartment 110 can be markedwith a directional indicator for proper insertion of a battery.

FIG. 9 illustrates a front view 900 a of an internal control board forthe situational-awareness accessory for use with optical devices,according to an implementation. Note that shown measurements,dimensions, and strain values are for a specific implementation(s) ofthe situational-awareness accessory and are not meant to be limiting toall possible implementations of the situational-awareness accessory. Theinternal control board includes a first control board 901 a and a secondcontrol board 901 b joined by a flexible data connection 902 (e.g., aribbon cable). In typical implementations, the first control board 901 aand the second control board 901 b are folded “back-to-back” and placedinto the situational-awareness accessory housing 102. As illustrated inFIG. 9, in typical implementations, the user display 112 is situated onthe first control board 901 a, and the visual sensor 114/objective lens122 is situated on the second control board 901 b. Also typicallysituated on the second control board 901 b are the power button 108, theadjustment button 106, and power management 904 (J2). Power management904 provides power management functions related to the battery (and insome implementations, recharging capability of the battery isrechargeable).

Although not illustrated, in some implementations, the internal controlboard can also be configured with connectors providing connectionfunctionality as described above. For example, the internal controlboard could be configured with a USB port connector, an audioconnector/built-in microphone/microphone jack, etc.

FIG. 10 illustrates a side view of the internal control board for thesituational-awareness accessory for use with optical devices, accordingto an implementation. Also illustrated in FIG. 2 is microprocessor 1002(U8) providing overall processing functionality for thesituational-awareness accessory.

FIG. 11 illustrates a rear view of the internal control board for thesituational-awareness accessory for use with optical devices, accordingto an implementation.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart of a method of use 1200 of thesituational-awareness accessory for use with optical devices, accordingto an implementation. For clarity of presentation, the description thatfollows generally describes method 1200 in the context of FIGS. 1-11.However, it will be understood that method 1200 may be performed, forexample, by any other suitable system, environment, software, andhardware, or a combination of systems, environments, software, andhardware as appropriate. In some implementations, various steps ofmethod 1200 can be run in parallel, in combination, in loops, or in anyorder.

At 1202, a situational-awareness accessory (situational-awarenessaccessory) is associated with an optical device (e.g., a nightvision/daylight optical scope, telescope, etc.). Association meanscoupled with, attached to, zeroed with respect to, etc. (for example,attached to a firearm or to the top of a scope tube). From 1202, method1200 proceeds to 1204.

At 1204, the situational-awareness accessory is activated using a powercontrol mechanism. This can include powering on thesituational-awareness accessory using a power button, triggeringactivation from an external control mechanism (e.g., an attached controldevice, smart device, etc.), activation due to an internal motion sensordetecting motion, etc. From 1204, method 1200 proceeds to 1206.

At 1206, settings for the situational-awareness accessory are adjustedusing an adjustment mechanism based on the operating environment. Forexample, color and/or temperature settings can be made (e.g., blackhot/white hot, temperature gradations, etc.), a reticle/aiming dot canbe displayed, etc. From 1206, method 1200 proceeds to 1208.

At 1208, the situational-awareness accessory is used to view animmediate area to make a situational awareness evaluation (e.g.,determining whether targets exist to engage, identifying targets, etc.).Note that additional settings adjustments may be made based on thesituational awareness evaluation. From 1208, method 1200 proceeds to1210.

At 1210, the associated optical device (or in some implementations, thesituational-awareness accessory) is used to engage any necessarytarget(s). From 1210, method 1200 proceeds to 1212.

At 1212, the target is engaged as necessary. After 1212, method 1200stops.

Note that in some implementations, a standard red-dot-type optic aimingmechanism for a firearm can be used in conjunction with thesituational-awareness accessory to provide an aiming point when lookingthrough the red-dot optic. For example, the red-dot optic could bezeroed with respect to the rifle and then the situational-awarenessaccessory placed in the optical path of the red-dot optic. A user of thesituational-awareness accessory looking through the red-dot optic wouldsee a red-dot projected against the situational-awareness accessory userdisplay (e.g., user display 112) providing an aiming point for the user.Note that the use of the re-dot optic could also be used when thesituational-awareness accessory displays an image from variouswavelengths of light. For example, with the situational-awarenessaccessory in a thermal mode, the red-dot optic aiming point would beagainst a thermal image. If the situational-awareness accessory wereoperated in a visible light mode (basically passing through a visiblelight image of what is in front of it to display on the user display112), the red-dot optic aiming point could still be used as an aimingpoint against the displayed, passed-through visible light image withouthaving to remove the situational-awareness accessory from the firearm.

Implementations of the subject matter and the functional operationsdescribed in this specification can be implemented in digital electroniccircuitry, in tangibly embodied computer software or firmware, incomputer hardware, including the structures disclosed in thisspecification and their structural equivalents, or in combinations ofone or more of them. Implementations of the subject matter described inthis specification can be implemented as one or more computer programs,i.e., one or more modules of computer program instructions encoded on atangible, non-transitory computer-storage medium for execution by, or tocontrol the operation of, data processing apparatus. Alternatively or inaddition, the program instructions can be encoded on an artificiallygenerated propagated signal, e.g., a machine-generated electrical,optical, or electromagnetic signal that is generated to encodeinformation for transmission to suitable receiver apparatus forexecution by a data processing apparatus. The computer-storage mediumcan be a machine-readable storage device, a machine-readable storagesubstrate, a random or serial access memory device, or a combination ofone or more of them.

The terms “data processing apparatus,” “computer,” or “electroniccomputer device” (or equivalent as understood by one of ordinary skillin the art) refer to data processing hardware and encompass all kinds ofapparatus, devices, and machines for processing data, including by wayof example, a programmable processor, a computer, or multiple processorsor computers. The apparatus can also be or further include specialpurpose logic circuitry, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), an FPGA(field programmable gate array), or an ASIC (application-specificintegrated circuit). In some implementations, the data processingapparatus and/or special purpose logic circuitry may be hardware-basedand/or software-based. The apparatus can optionally include code thatcreates an execution environment for computer programs, e.g., code thatconstitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a database managementsystem, an operating system, or a combination of one or more of them.The present disclosure contemplates the use of data processingapparatuses with or without conventional operating systems, for example,LINUX, UNIX, WINDOWS, MAC OS, ANDROID, IOS, or any other suitableconventional operating system.

A computer program, which may also be referred to or described as aprogram, software, a software application, a module, a software module,a script, or code, can be written in any form of programming language,including compiled or interpreted languages, or declarative orprocedural languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as astand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unitsuitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program may, butneed not, correspond to a file in a file system. A program can be storedin a portion of a file that holds other programs or data, e.g., one ormore scripts stored in a markup language document, in a single filededicated to the program in question, or in multiple coordinated files,e.g., files that store one or more modules, sub-programs, or portions ofcode. A computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computeror on multiple computers that are located at one site or distributedacross multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network.While portions of the programs illustrated in the various figures areshown as individual modules that implement the various features andfunctionality through various objects, methods, or other processes, theprograms may instead include a number of sub-modules, third-partyservices, components, libraries, and such, as appropriate. Conversely,the features and functionality of various components can be combinedinto single components as appropriate.

The processes and logic flows described in this specification can beperformed by one or more programmable computers executing one or morecomputer programs to perform functions by operating on input data andgenerating output. The processes and logic flows can also be performedby, and apparatus can also be implemented as, special purpose logiccircuitry, e.g., a CPU, an FPGA, or an ASIC.

Computers suitable for the execution of a computer program can be basedon general or special purpose microprocessors, both, or any other kindof CPU. Generally, a CPU will receive instructions and data from aread-only memory (ROM) or a random access memory (RAM) or both. Theessential elements of a computer are a CPU for performing or executinginstructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions anddata. Generally, a computer will also include, or be operatively coupledto, receive data from or transfer data to, or both, one or more massstorage devices for storing data, e.g., magnetic, magneto-optical disks,or optical disks. However, a computer need not have such devices.Moreover, a computer can be embedded in another device, e.g., a mobiletelephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile audio or videoplayer, a game console, a global positioning system (GPS) receiver, or aportable storage device, e.g., a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive,to name just a few.

Computer-readable media (transitory or non-transitory, as appropriate)suitable for storing computer program instructions and data include allforms of non-volatile memory, media and memory devices, including by wayof example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., erasable programmableread-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EEPROM), and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g.,internal hard disks or removable disks; magneto-optical disks; andCD-ROM, DVD+/−R, DVD-RAM, and DVD-ROM disks. The memory may storevarious objects or data, including caches, classes, frameworks,applications, backup data, jobs, web pages, web page templates, databasetables, repositories storing business and/or dynamic information, andany other appropriate information including any parameters, variables,algorithms, instructions, rules, constraints, or references thereto.Additionally, the memory may include any other appropriate data, such aslogs, policies, security or access data, reporting files, as well asothers. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, orincorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.

To provide for interaction with a user, implementations of the subjectmatter described in this specification can be implemented on a computerhaving a display device, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube), LCD (liquidcrystal display), LED (Light Emitting Diode), or plasma monitor, fordisplaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointing device,e.g., a mouse, trackball, or trackpad by which the user can provideinput to the computer. Input may also be provided to the computer usinga touchscreen, such as a tablet computer surface with pressuresensitivity, a multi-touch screen using capacitive or electric sensing,or other type of touchscreen. Other kinds of devices can be used toprovide for interaction with a user as well; for example, feedbackprovided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g., visualfeedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input from theuser can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactileinput. In addition, a computer can interact with a user by sendingdocuments to and receiving documents from a device that is used by theuser; for example, by sending web pages to a web browser on a user'sclient device in response to requests received from the web browser.

The term “graphical user interface,” or “GUI,” may be used in thesingular or the plural to describe one or more graphical user interfacesand each of the displays of a particular graphical user interface.Therefore, a GUI may represent any graphical user interface including,but not limited to, a web browser, a touch screen, or a command lineinterface (CLI) that processes information and efficiently presents theinformation results to the user. In general, a GUI may include aplurality of user interface (UI) elements, some or all associated with aweb browser, such as interactive fields, pull-down lists, and buttonsoperable by the business suite user. These and other UI elements may berelated to or represent the functions of the web browser.

Implementations of the subject matter described in this specificationcan be implemented in a computing system that includes a back-endcomponent, e.g., as a data server, or that includes a middlewarecomponent, e.g., an application server, or that includes a front-endcomponent, e.g., a client computer having a graphical user interface ora Web browser through which a user can interact with an implementationof the subject matter described in this specification, or anycombination of one or more such back-end, middleware, or front-endcomponents. The components of the system can be interconnected by anyform or medium of wireline and/or wireless digital data communication,e.g., a communication network. Examples of communication networksinclude a local area network (LAN), a radio access network (RAN), ametropolitan area network (MAN), a wide area network (WAN), WorldwideInteroperability for Microwave Access (WIMAX), a wireless local areanetwork (WLAN) using, for example, 802.11 a/b/g/n and/or 802.20, all ora portion of the Internet, and/or any other communication system orsystems at one or more locations. The network may communicate with, forexample, Internet Protocol (IP) packets, Frame Relay frames,Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) cells, voice, video, data, and/or othersuitable information between network addresses.

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other.

In some implementations, any or all of the components of the computingsystem, both hardware and/or software, may interface with each otherand/or the interface using an application programming interface (API)and/or a service layer. The API may include specifications for routines,data structures, and object classes. The API may be either computerlanguage-independent or -dependent and refer to a complete interface, asingle function, or even a set of APIs. The service layer providessoftware services to the computing system. The functionality of thevarious components of the computing system may be accessible for allservice consumers using this service layer. Software services providereusable, defined business functionalities through a defined interface.For example, the interface may be software written in JAVA, C++, orother suitable language providing data in extensible markup language(XML) format or other suitable format. The API and/or service layer maybe an integral and/or a stand-alone component in relation to othercomponents of the computing system. Moreover, any or all parts of theservice layer may be implemented as child or sub-modules of anothersoftware module, enterprise application, or hardware module withoutdeparting from the scope of this disclosure.

While this specification contains many specific implementation details,these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of anyinvention or on the scope of what may be claimed, but rather asdescriptions of features that may be specific to particularimplementations of particular inventions. Certain features that aredescribed in this specification in the context of separateimplementations can also be implemented in combination in a singleimplementation. Conversely, various features that are described in thecontext of a single implementation can also be implemented in multipleimplementations separately or in any suitable sub-combination. Moreover,although features may be described above as acting in certaincombinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more featuresfrom a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from thecombination, and the claimed combination may be directed to asub-combination or variation of a sub-combination.

Particular implementations of the subject matter have been described.Other implementations, alterations, and permutations of the describedimplementations are within the scope of the following claims as will beapparent to those skilled in the art. While operations are depicted inthe drawings or claims in a particular order, this should not beunderstood as requiring that such operations be performed in theparticular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustratedoperations be performed (some operations may be considered optional), toachieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking andparallel processing may be advantageous.

Moreover, the separation and/or integration of various system modulesand components in the implementations described above should not beunderstood as requiring such separation and/or integration in allimplementations, and it should be understood that the described programcomponents and systems can generally be integrated together in a singlesoftware product or packaged into multiple software products.

Accordingly, the above description of example implementations does notdefine or constrain this disclosure. Other changes, substitutions, andalterations are also possible without departing from the spirit andscope of this disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A situational-awareness accessory, comprising: ahousing including a control board, a user display, and a visual sensorfor receiving electromagnetic radiation that is invisible to the humaneye from a wide-angle, optical field-of-view (FOV) in front of thevisual sensor, wherein the control board converts receivedelectromagnetic radiation into visual display data and initiates displayof the visual display data on the user display, and wherein the visualsensor is configured to be interchangeable within the housing; and aquick-detach accessory base mount coupled with the housing andpermitting attachment of the housing to an accessory rail, thequick-detach accessory base mount including: a rail clamp carried toselectively clamp the base mount to the accessory rail; a mounting armcoupled with a pivot shaft threaded to hold a preload screw opposite themounting arm and the rail clamp, the mounting arm configured to rotaterelative to the base mount between a clamped and an unclamped positionassociated with the rail clamp, the rotation of the mounting arm causingthe rail clamp to clamp and unclamp the base mount to the accessoryrail, respectively; and an interlock configured to selectively restrictrotation of the mounting arm between the clamped and unclampedpositions.
 2. The situational-awareness accessory of claim 1, whereinelectromagnetic radiation receivable by the visual sensor includes atleast one of ultraviolet (UV), infrared (IR), or X-ray.
 3. Thesituational-awareness accessory of claim 1, comprising an objective lensto provide at least one of protection or functionality enhancement tothe visual sensor.
 4. The situational-awareness accessory of claim 3,wherein the functionality enhancement includes one or more of providinga wider FOV, magnification, and filtering of one or more wavelengths ofelectromagnetic radiation.
 5. The situational-awareness accessory ofclaim 1, comprising an aiming-type indicator displayed on the userdisplay.
 6. The situational-awareness accessory of claim 1, comprisingoptical or digital zoom functionality provided with the visual sensor toprovide a zoomed image on the user display.
 7. The situational-awarenessaccessory of claim 1, wherein the control board provides connectivityfunctionality with an external computing device.
 8. Thesituational-awareness accessory of claim 7, wherein the externalcomputing device can configure the situational-awareness accessory,record data received from the situational-awareness accessory, andsupply data to the situational-awareness accessory for display on theuser display.
 9. The situational-awareness accessory of claim 1, whereinthe control board comprises a first control board and a second controlboard joined by a flexible data connection and folded back-to-backwithin the housing.
 10. A situational-awareness accessory, comprising: ahousing including a control board, a user display, and a visual sensorfor receiving electromagnetic radiation that is invisible to the humaneye from a wide-angle, optical field-of-view (FOV) in front of thevisual sensor, wherein the control board converts receivedelectromagnetic radiation into visual display data and initiates displayof the visual display data on the user display, and wherein the visualsensor is configured to be interchangeable within the housing; and; aquick-detach accessory base mount coupled with the housing andpermitting attachment of the housing to an accessory rail, thequick-detach accessory base mount including: a rail clamp carried toselectively clamp the base mount to the accessory rail; and a rotatablemounting arm coupled with a pivot shaft passing through the rail clamp,the pivot shaft threaded to hold a preload screw opposite the mountingarm and the rail clamp, the preload screw used to configure a clampingforce of the rail clamp to the accessory rail, and the preload screwsecured to the mounting arm in a particular position using a preloadgrub screw.
 11. The situational-awareness accessory of claim 10, whereinelectromagnetic radiation receivable by the visual sensor includes atleast one of ultraviolet (UV), infrared (IR), or X-ray.
 12. Thesituational-awareness accessory of claim 10, comprising optical ordigital zoom functionality provided with the visual sensor to provide azoomed image on the user display.
 13. The situational-awarenessaccessory of claim 10, wherein the control board provides connectivityfunctionality with an external computing device, and wherein theexternal computing device can configure the situational-awarenessaccessory, record data received from the situational-awarenessaccessory, and supply data to the situational-awareness accessory fordisplay on the user display.
 14. The situational-awareness accessory ofclaim 10, wherein the control board comprises a first control board anda second control board joined by a flexible data connection and foldedback-to-back within the housing.
 15. A method comprising: associating asituational-awareness accessory with an optical device, thesituational-awareness accessory comprising a housing including a userdisplay and a visual sensor, wherein the visual sensor is configured tobe interchangeable within the housing; activating thesituational-awareness accessory to receive electromagnetic radiationthat is invisible to the human eye from a wide-angle, opticalfield-of-view (FOV) in front of the visual sensor; adjusting settingsfor the situational-awareness accessory on the user display; viewing theuser display of the situational-awareness accessory to make asituational awareness evaluation of an immediate area in front of thesituational-awareness accessory, the user display displaying thereceived electromagnetic radiation converted into visual display data;and using the optical device to engage a target based on the situationalawareness evaluation.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein associatingthe situational-awareness accessory with the optical device includes useof a quick-detach accessory base mount configured as part of thesituational-awareness accessory, the quick-detach accessory base mountincluding: a rail clamp carried to selectively clamp the base mount tothe accessory rail; a mounting arm coupled with a pivot shaft threadedto hold a preload screw opposite the mounting arm and the rail clamp,the mounting arm configured to rotate relative to the base mount betweena clamped and an unclamped position associated with the rail clamp, therotation of the mounting arm causing the rail clamp to clamp and unclampthe base mount to the accessory rail, respectively; and an interlockconfigured to selectively restrict rotation of the mounting arm betweenthe clamped and an unclamped position.
 17. The method of claim 15,comprising interchanging the visual sensor in the situational-awarenessaccessory depending upon which wavelength of electromagnetic radiationdesired to be used to make the situational awareness evaluation.
 18. Themethod of claim 15, comprising connecting the situational-awarenessaccessory to an external computing device, wherein the externalcomputing device can be used to configure the situational-awarenessaccessory, record data received from the situational-awarenessaccessory, and to supply data to the situational-awareness accessory fordisplay on the user display.